About 700,000 people visit, dine, shop or pass through Grand Central Terminal every day. A view from above showcases the astrological ceiling mural with its glittering stars, the Beaux Arts interior design and arched windows.

Photo: MTA

About 700,000 people visit, dine, shop or pass through Grand...

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Grand Central Terminal Inside View About 700,000 people visit, dine, shop or pass through Grand Central Terminal every day. A view from above showcases a popular meeting place the famous information booth with its gem of a clock, the astrological ceiling mural with its glittering stars, the Beaux Arts interior design and arched windows.

Photo: MTA

Grand Central Terminal Inside View About 700,000 people visit,...

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Sun shines in to the Main Concourse. Taken from the East building, facing southwest. c1916.

Photo: MTA

Sun shines in to the Main Concourse. Taken from the East building,...

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Main concourse of Grand Central Station, taken over the west balcony, facing east. Kodak Colorama advertisement shown on board above the East Balcony. c1960

Photo: MTA

Main concourse of Grand Central Station, taken over the west...

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Statue of Mercury with Tiffany clock above the entrance to Grand Central Teminal.

Photo: MTA

Statue of Mercury with Tiffany clock above the entrance to Grand...

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The zodiac ceiling of Grand Central Terminal.

Photo: MTA

The zodiac ceiling of Grand Central Terminal.

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About 700,000 people visit, dine, shop or pass through Grand Central Terminal every day. A view from above showcases the astrological ceiling mural with its glittering stars, the Beaux Arts interior design and arched windows.

Photo: MTA

About 700,000 people visit, dine, shop or pass through Grand...

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NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: People walk through Grand Central Terminal on the day before the famed Manhattan transit hub turns 100 years old on January 31, 2013 in New York City. The terminal opened in 1913 and is the world's largest terminal covering 49 acres with 33 miles of track. Each day 700,000 people pass through the terminal where Metro-North Railroad operates 700 trains per day. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A view of the oyster bar, one of several dining areas within Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Grand Central Terminal.

Photo: MTA

A view of the oyster bar, one of several dining areas within Grand...

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The Campbell Apartment, a bar within Grand Central.

Photo: MTA

The Campbell Apartment, a bar within Grand Central.

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About 700,000 people visit, dine, shop or pass through Grand Central Terminal every day. A view from above showcases the astrological ceiling mural with its glittering stars, the Beaux Arts interior design and arched windows.

But in New York, the nexus of human travel is the impossibly grand Grand Central Terminal, where more than 750,000 people (more than the population of Alaska) come through every day - four times the traffic of JFK airport. The largest train station in the world in size and number of trains, it is among the city's most beloved places and the spiritual heart of Gotham.

For very good reason. The elegant Beaux-Arts style building reminds people daily just how gracious and accommodating a public space can be. And it continues to do so even as it enters its second century. This month the monumental building marked its 100th anniversary - the terminal opened for business just after midnight on Feb. 2, 1913 - with a party that included the Vanderbilt family, whose ancestor Cornelius Vanderbilt inspired the construction of Grand Central, and preservationist Caroline Kennedy, whose mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is widely credited with saving the building from destruction in the 1970s.

More Information

If you go

1 For information on Grand Central Terminal, which includes shopping, dining and 100 anniversary highlights, see grand centralterminal.com

For information on centennial exhibits in Grand Central Terminal, see mta.info/mta/museum.

1 For information on Grand Central Terminal tours offered by the Municipal Art Society of New York, see mas.org.

Where to stay

1 The Westin New York Grand Central, 212 E. 42nd St., is an official hotel sponsor of the Grand Central Terminal Centennial.

All year, the hotel, steps from the terminal, will offer the "I Heart New York Package" for $239 nightly. The package includes a complimentary $10 Metrocard, Grand Central audio tour and a New York City-themed amenity. The hotel features 774 rooms, a fitness studio and The LCL: Bar & Kitchen.

The terminal is marking its centennial with a year-long series of public exhibitions, performances, lectures, parties and tours all meant to celebrate and honor a building that embodies the 20th century aspirations of the city.

Travelers visiting New York this year would do well to spend a few hours in the space whose every turn and cranny offers entertaining diversions and historic observations. From top (look up in the main concourse and you can see the heavens, a cerulean blue astronomical ceiling with 2,500 gilt stars) to the bottom (the terminal actually goes down 10 stories below street level), Grand Central amazes.

Here are five things not to miss when visiting the terminal:

1The Municipal Arts Society of New York offers daily tours at 12:30 p.m. that last about 75 minutes. To purchase tickets ($20 for adults, $15 for seniors, students and children under 10) look for the ticket window marked "GCT Tours." Led by MAS docents, the tour is a perfect way to get acquainted with the building and its history. Did you know that the clock beneath the sculpture of Mercury capping the building is the world's largest example of Tiffany glass?

2No visit to GCT would be complete without a nosh. The lower level offers a variety of casual dining options, but the best dining seats in the house are found at Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, where fresh oysters and seafood and classic chowders and pan roasts have fed travelers since the terminal opened. While supping on impeccable oysters, marvel at the vaulted ceilings courtesy of Rafael Guastavino's technique of self-supporting arches.

3At the center of the main concourse is a brass kiosk that is the terminal's information booth. But its is known for its four-faced clock that is the unofficial meeting place of GCT. The clock's four convex faces are made of opal; auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's have fixed its value at between $10-$20 million.

4There are many hidden nooks in GCT but the Campbell Apartment, a posh bar, is unusual because it was the former private office and salon of 1920s tycoon John W. Campbell. He died in 1957 and the space eventually fell into disrepair. It was renovated in 1999 and now is a chic place for proper cocktails.

5 The Guastavino arches also created a unique feature within the terminal known as the "whispering gallery." It's a vaulted square in front of the Oyster Bar that features an acoustic anomaly that allows people to stand at diagonal corners of the arc and whisper to each other with the sound amplified at the other end.